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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chest — a box
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. chest — of your body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. content — the amount
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — money
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. squash — the sport
  20. file — a document
  21. content — happy
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. squash — to crush
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com